SEPHORA — Local services in New York

This a review in two parts, and unfortunately, quite long. This was our first day visiting NYC from the UK and we were enjoying our day.

The technician that my 9 year old daughter saw with my wife was amazing. She tested her skin and recommended suitable products. My daughter is fairly obsessed with Sephora so she was delighted with the attention and bought products for herself and gifts for her friends.

Now the not so good part. We visited this store at first while walking up to a diner. I am disabled with mobility issues and I carry a small portable seat so I can rest when my family are in stores. I sat in a spot inside the front door so as to not cause any obstruction, although I was in front of an advertising poster. I sat for up to 30 minutes or so with not one complaint or member of staff talking to me.

When we returned later to make purchases, I sat in the same spot. Very soon after, I was approached by a rather blunt staff member who said I could not sit there. I asked if there was somewhere I could sit but no solution or explanation was offered, just another quite blunt, 'you can't sit there.' When I probed further, I was told there might be seats downstairs.

I went downstairs but couldn't see any seats so I went back up the escalator and asked a different staff member if there was somewhere I could rest until my family had finished shopping. I explained that I was disabled but I was just told that there might be seats downstairs. I asked her where they were and she said, 'to the left.' I once again went downstairs but still couldn't see any seats.

At this point, I was even more exhausted so I sat on my seat at the bottom and to the side of the escalator (our US phones are not working for some reason so I had to be visible to my wife as she left or we would have been separated).

This spot I sat in was possibly more obstructive to customers as I could only sit in front of a stand full of products and still be seen should my wife use the escalator. The original staff member walked past me several times but said nothing. I can only assume that obstructing part of a poster was the issue for her.

The part I found unpleasant was that there was no attempt at help or accommodation offered, only bluntness. I don't know if Sephora have a company-wide contempt for disabled people or it was just this store/some staff members but the fact I was allowed to sit in the same spot previously, while a staff member stood yards away suggests that it's the latter.

I didn't mention any of this to my daughter as she loves Sephora but she is a very caring little girl and she would have returned her purchases and boycotted the company if she knew how disabled people are treated in there.

Any way, the excellent American reputation for customer service I was telling everyone about took a dent. Happily, every other single place we visited that day were very helpful and understanding. Sometimes people are just on a power trip and, sadly, don't act with any decency or compassion.

Unfortunately, I can't give the technician 5 stars and the jobsworth zero so two stars it is, as the disgust I have is still very fresh. A bit of training on dealing with disability would perhaps help this store immensely and I hope it is taken a bit more seriously going forward.

*Just to update, after the initial response from Sephora, I provided the requested information. After I gave them this info, I was contacted by customer service asking me to provide them with the content of my review as another department only had access to the review! I responded, telling them that the review was freely available on the internet and that having responded to it once, they possibly already had access to it. As I was on holiday, I felt that further requests for more info was a waste of my time and that I was simply being brushed off, which was indicative of the attitude I experienced in-store. Needless to say, I have had no further contact from Sephora. I can now safely say that the attitude shown toward my disability is a...

Sephora first launched in Paris on 14 August 1969. It was acquired by Dominique Mandonnaud in 1993, who merged the purchase with his own perfume chain under the Sephora brand. Mandonnaud is credited for founding and implementing Sephora's "assisted self-service" sales experience, which departed from then-typical retail models for cosmetics by encouraging customers to try products in-store before purchasing.8

Mandonnaud continued to expand the Sephora brand through the 1990s, opening up its flagship store in Champs Élysées in 1997. In July 1997, Mandonnaud and his partners sold Sephora to LVMH, who expanded the stores globally and bolstered the chain's product offerings to include beauty and cosmetic products.2]



Sephora's flagship store on Champs Élysées

Sephora extended its operation to the Middle Easternmarkets in 2007 and has opened over 44 Sephora UAE and KSA stores as well as an eCommerce store. [10 It extends its partnership with its exclusive brands in the region. 10]

On 1 January 2014, Calvin McDonald replaced David Suliteanu as president and chief executive officer of Sephora Americas. Suliteanu was named CEO of Kendo Brands, another business in the LVMH portfolio.[12]

Sephora opened its first United States store in New York City in 1998 and its first Canadian store in Toronto in 2004.[13 Its North American headquarters is located in San Francisco, with corporate offices in New York City and Montréal. Sephora currently operates over 430 stores across North America.15]



Sephora, Toronto Eaton Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

In 26 August 2016, Sephora opened its 400th location in North America on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. The store is the city's new flagship location.[16]

On 31 March 2017, Sephora opened its largest retail location in North America near Herald Square. The store is approximately 11,380 square feet and features over 13,000 products. It's one of six Sephora TIP Workshop locations, with interactive services and tools, in North America; the others include San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Santa Clara Valley,...

I wanted to try 2 different products to compare on my skin before making a decision.

One of the products didn’t have a tester open, so I kindly asked a sales associate if there is a way I can try the product on my skin. She refused to make any further action.

She said that I can try the essence from the same brand, instead.

She should know the difference between a moisturizer and an essence, and how each product would work differently on one’s skin.

Since she was not willing to help with that item, I asked to get a sample of another item to try on my face, instead of just trying it on the back of my hand. She also refused, mentioning the price of the item, “It is a $200 dollar product”.

I wouldn’t feel comfortable spending $150-250 on a moisturizer without making sure it will work on my skin.

I hope she was willing to find ways to help me find a moisturizer of my need when she refused to help.

I understand that giving a sample for such high ticketed items can be difficult, but she could have at least asked me of my needs and wants, instead of simply refusing with a condescending tone.

I won’t mention her name as I would not want this to be targeted to her. Considering the location of this store being in Times Square, I understand there are many tourists, and many sales associates can act this way. Perhaps, they are trained this way by Sephora.

One may think that there aren’t any local customers who would come back periodically. But there are local customers who are willing to shop at this location to get help from the sales associates and make the store as one’s local skincare store.

It was an extremely disappointing customer service and shopping experience. I don’t think I would expect this to be fixed at any time soon, as it seems this is the way they might have been educated. Otherwise, the condescending tone would not have come out.

I just hope Sephora would listen to my feedback, and improve in the near future before...